Terry Pratchett + Disney = ????

Bleeding Cool’s reporting that Ron Clements and John Muskerare working on an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s fourth Discworld novel, Mort.

Mort was the first Discworld novel I ever read; I went through the Death novels first. It’s the book that hooked me onto Terry Pratchett and is one of my all-time favourite novels.

On the one hand, I’m terribly excited that his work may become a Disney animation. The graphic novel adaptation of the title Mort: The Big Comicwas excellent, which bodes well for an animated adaptation. I also absolutely adore the live-action adaptations of Hogfather and The Colour of Magic by Sky One in the UK. Also the Royal National Theatre’s stage adaptation of Pratchett’s Nation, was absolutely breathtaking. On the other hand, I remember being filled with the nerd rage while I sat in the theatre watching the debacle that was X-Men 3: The Last Stand as it absolutely mangled one of the best X-Men stories of all time.

Such is the case with adaptations. You get some excellent ones while others are absolutely abysmal. I guess only time will tell, though I’d feel a lot better if I knew if this was a Pixar production. Pixar’s shown time and time again that they can create animated features that truly appeal to audiences of all ages. If it’s just a regular Disney film, I do find it a tad curious that they’re adapting Mort and not one of Pratchett’s books that was written for younger readers. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodentsor one of the Tiffany Aching books, though Disney would have to purchase the rights for the first book, The Wee Free Men, from Sony Pictures Entertainment. Talking cats and rodents are nothing new for Disney and, from a merchandising standpoint, the Nac Mac Feegles would be an absolute goldmine.

Shelley Smarz is a comic book scholar and business woman. She traveled to Memphis, TN to meet Terry Pratchett. When she finally got to speak with him face-to-face, she squeed.

1 Comment

I was so happy at this news I wet myself. While Mort isn’t my favorite book, it is one of my favorites, and it’s definitely the beginning of my favorite Discworld series, the Death Series for those not in the know.

Disney adaptations have never been 100% faithful to the source material, and I don’t expect them to start now. However, that doesn’t mean the movie won’t be brilliant and exciting. It certainly won’t be disappointing.* This is new Disney we’re talking about.

I can’t wait to start buying all the merchandise.

*Soul Music will, but it’ll also be direct to Disney DVD and Blu-ray, so yeah.